Functionalism And Family

Why are children with divorced parents different from those with married? According to the American Pyschological Association, forty to fifty percent of marriages in American society fail and end with divorce. Divorce is mainly caused by stress among families which contributes to stress in society. Children's outlook on society is caused by the way they are raised. Children tend to have more stability when they have a normal functioning family. Functionalism, manifest functions, and latent functions of children in today's society are caused by the divorce effects of their family. Functionalism is the key to success among basically any organization. "Functionalism is a theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best
be explained in terms of the functions they perform - that is, the contributions they make to the continuity of society."(Giddens) In others words, in order for functionalism to work, the parts of the organization must perform its functions. For example, a typical family usually consists of a mother, a father, and children. The function of the mother is typically to be the homemaker and caretaker. On the other hand, the function of the father is to be the economical back bone of the family. The children typically attend school, to educate themselves, and provide help around the house doing chores. The function that the family shares is to love each other and show respect for society. The family is the original organization that society is based off of. More specifically, manifest functions play a role in helping people perform their functions within the family. "Manifest functions are the functions of a type of social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in the activity." (Giddens) The manifest functions of a mother is to treat the children when they are sick, do the dishes and laundry, and possibly even work and look after the children at the same time. The manifest functions of a father is to discipline the children, bring home money and support the family. Children perform manifest functions by learning and doing well in school, and helping the mother do household work such as preparing the table for dinner or sweeping the floor. Mainly, the manifest functions of the family as a whole is to pass down the lessons and cultural backgrounds to future generations to provide society with diversity in different aspects of life. On the other hand, latent functions could be considered to have a more intense effect on society.
" Latent functions are functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the memebers of a social system in which they occur." (Giddens) Because latent functions are less obvious, they are harder to determine. Some experts might say that latent functions are how to adjust to society's norms, hostile behavior toward certain groups or cultures or even something as simple as the influence of a societal role. For example, adjusting to society's norms could effect one's choice in who they marry. Most daughters in families look for a man that provides the same emotional support that the father did. Another example for influence of a societal role is to follow in the footsteps of a mother or father and persue a similar career that they did. Latent functions could also be harmful to society because they could discretly and unintentionally create racism between different groups of
people. Because each family must perform functionalism, manifest and latent functions in order to contribute to society, many families fall apart, especially in American society. For example, a father could fail to perform his functions by losing his job or leaving the family. This means that the mother and children will have no provider or support so that what's left of the family could survive. A father that fails to perform the mainfest functions of discipline can produce rebellious children that can eventually harm society. Children of divorce may seek a substitute family elsewhere. An example of this is when a child joins a gang. In joining a gang, the child may be seeking the sense of belonging that they are lacking in their family. Latent functions that are not learned from a father can cause the children of the family to grow up sensitive and weaker because they don't necessarily have the man figure that they need in their life. The functions could also be failed by the mother leaving the children to grow up with little care provided for them. A parent not performing his or her functions is a parent failing their children and society. Because functionalism plays such an important aspect in how a family works, a divorce is what can hurt a family even more than say a parent leaving.
A divorce between parents causes the children to have stress and act out in society. It also forces the children to pick a side which can lead to behavioral problems, psychological distress and even academic suffering. These effects don't just last throughout childhood, they can make an everlasting impact on the children even far into adulthood. Children tend to learn by example. Some of the first things that children learn are from their family. If a child's parents are divorced, it may be hard for the child to learn how to function in society. If each part of the family is not functioning how they should be, then it can seriously affect the
family.
Overall, divorce is the ultimate downfall of a family's functions in society because a member of the family fails to perform functionalism, mainfest, and latent functions. Although the family may still be able to survive and have a positive impact in society, the chances are very slim because a family is the basis of society. Family is something that mostly everyone has. If one has an unstable biological family, then one will fail to create families in other places including work organizations or friend groups. People should really consider all aspects of a family before having one because divorce has a bigger impact on society than we notice.